Nash, not at restSteve Nash, still banging on the parquet for the Pheonix Suns at the age of 37, is even greater than we thought. He takes regular naps. According to The New York Times, he is just one of a huge number of bold face power nappers in the NBA. (LA Laker Kobe Bryant actually checks into a hotel for his pre-game sleep when due to play at home.) Nash, the All-Star point guard, knows that decline may come fast at his age. But his solution is not to increase his conditioning or to lift more weights. Instead, he plans to increase his naptime, seizing on an element of NBA life as common as a 3-point shot.

“If you nap every game day, all those hours add up and it allows you to get through the season better,” Nash told a reporter at the paper of record. “I want to improve at that, so by the end of the year, I feel better.”

Nash is among a great majority of NBA players who swear by their pregame nap. Most are interested in its restorative benefits, although a few may just be trying to counter boredom. Whatever the reason, balls stop bouncing and shoes stop screeching every afternoon.

“Everyone in the league office knows not to call players at 3 p.m.,” said Adam Silver, the league’s deputy commissioner. “It’s the player nap.”